Complex network perspective on collaboration in the ICT standardization

Standardization is a crucial enabler of global business of Information and Communications Technologies. Convergence of the underlying networking paradigms of licensed Mobile Communication and license exempted Internet has made progress but full integration is still far from being complete. For standardization professionals the unpredictable convergence makes decisionmaking and participation in standardization complicated. This study examines collaboration in five closely related standardization organizations working in this field during the years from 2003 to 2008. The results show similarities and differences in collaboration structures and behaviours reflecting the specific scope and context of each standardization organization. Furthermore, this study extends the use of social network analysis as a tool to the field of empirical standardization research. The results pave the way to better collaboration in standardization communities of converging Mobile Internet and beyond by providing better visibility and new insights to standardization leaders, policy makers and users.Peer reviewe

Kytketyn maailman kompleksit arvoverkot

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enable companies to provide critical services and products to their customers globally. Consequently, understanding the complex interrelations between the technologies and value systems of the companies has become crucially important. As the existing literature on value systems recognizes systemic complexity often implicitly only, a question arises: is it possible to develop a holistic system model to examine the ICT-driven value systems embracing complexity? In this thesis, a qualitative complex value system model is developed and evaluated. Existing literature provides the framework for the modelling. Complex system attractors used in studying complex adaptive systems set the reference to the examination of the value systems and their system states. The thesis models the ICT-driven complex value systems through the technical and operative structures, boundary conditions, and dynamic behaviours observed in those value systems. The research examines global mobile communications and internet value systems complemented by studies on emerging ICT driven value systems of transportation in Finland. Agent-based simulations and social network analyses applied to the boundaries of the value systems set by regulation and standardization, respectively, provide a quantitative environment for the limited evaluation of the developed model. This thesis identifies the four complex value system states that characterize the examined value systems. The research provides insights into the structures and dynamics in the value systems. For instance, the research presents a categorization of the key standardization organizations in alignment with the value systems they serve by analysing the documents used in those organizations. The observed complex characteristic of the value systems, including the scenarios for system state transitions, provide points of consideration to business leaders, standardization practitioners, as well as for policy makers in their pursuit to consider developments in the ICT-driven value systems, such as 5G mobile communication in the context of the future data-based society.Tieto- ja tietoliikennetekniikka (ICT) ovat avainasemassa, kun yritykset tarjoavat yhteiskunnallisesti merkittäviä palveluita ja tuotteita maailmanlaajuisille markkinoille. Tämän vuoksi on tärkeää ymmärtää, miten monimutkaiset sidokset teknologioiden ja yritysten muodostamien arvoverkkojen välillä toimivat. Koska arvoverkkoja käsittelevä laaja kirjallisuus tarkastelee tällaisten järjestelmien kompleksisuutta usein vain viitteellisesti, herää kysymys, olisiko mahdollista kehittää kokonaisvaltainen systeeminen malli, jonka avulla tällaisia ICT -pohjaisia arvoverkkoja voitaisiin tutkia myös kompleksisuuden näkökulmasta. Tämä tutkimus kehittää ja evaluoi erään tällaisen laadullisen mallin. Tutkimus nojaa kompleksisuusteoriasta tunnettuihin mallinnusmenetelmiin ja ajatuspolkuihin, kuten systeemeitä luonnehtiviin tiloihin, niihin liittyviin atraktoreihin sekä mahdollisiin siirtymiin tilojen välillä. Malli perustuu arvoverkoissa havaittuihin teknisiin ja toiminnallisiin rakenteisiin huomioiden verkkojen reunaehtojen vaikutukset sekä tarkastellen ilmiöitä toimijoiden käyttäytymisessä. Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat maailmanlaajuiset mobiilin tietoliikenteen ja internetin arvoverkot, mitä täydennetään tutkimalla syntymässä olevia ICT pohjaisia arvoverkkoja tieliikenteeseen Suomessa.Mallin evaluoimiseksi työssä tarkastellaan arvoverkon reunaehtojen vaikutuksia verkon käyttäytymiseen ja rakenteisiin. Agenttipohjaisella simulaatiolla tutkitaan radiospektrin saatavuuden vaikutuksia radioverkon arvonluontijärjestelmän dynamiikkaan sekä sosiaalisen verkostoanalyysin avulla tarkastellaan yhteistyötapojen rakenteita käytännön standardointityössä. Tutkimuksessa havaitaan neljä erilaista systeemistä arvoverkkojen tilaa, joiden mukaan malli rakentuu. Malli ja sen evaluointi tuovat esille tietoa kompleksisten arvoverkkojen rakenteista ja toiminnasta. Esimerkiksi analysoimalla tutkittavien arvoverkkojen standardointityössä syntyvää laajaa dokumentaatiota voidaan löytää systeemisiä linjauksia standardointityön ja niiden pohjalle syntyvien arvoverkkojen rakenteiden välillä. Havaittujen kompleksisten arvoverkkojen ja niiden tilasiirtyminen luokituksia voivat käyttää niin lainsäätäjät, liiketoimintojen kehittäjät kuin standardoinnin ammattilaiset pohtiessaan, kuinka ICT pohjaisia arvoverkkoja, kuten juuri käynnistymässä olevaa 5G mobiiliverkkoa, voitaisiin parhaiten käyttää suunniteltaessa tulevaisuuden tietoon nojaavaa yhteiskuntaa

The Link Between Standardization and Economic Growth

We analyze the link between standardization and economic growth by systematically reviewing leading economics journals, leading economic growth researchers’ articles, and economic growth-related books. We make the following observations: 1) No article has analyzed the link between standardization and economic growth in top5 economics journals between 1996 and 2018. 2) A representative sample of the leading researchers of economic growth has allocated little attention to the link between standardization and economic growth. 3) Typically, economic growth textbooks do not contain “standards” or “standardization” in their word indexes. These findings suggest that the economic growth theory has neglected the role of standardization.peerReviewe

Coopetition, standardization and general purpose technologies : A framework and an application

We argue that coopetition and standardization are important dimensions in the analysis of general-purpose technologies (GPT). We synthesize ideas from GPT, standardization, and coopetition literatures and introduce a framework for empirical analysis of GPTs that are enabled by standards development and related coopetition. We apply this framework and analyze the role of coopetition in standardization of wireless cellular technology, which has been recently discussed as a GPT. We document that coopetition and standardization have been associated with increasing improvement, innovation spawning, and pervasiveness—the characteristics of GPTs—in the context of wireless cellular technology. The perspective of standardization and coopetition could shed further light on the technological progress and evolution related to emerging GPT candidates, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.peerReviewe

Evolution toward an open value system for smart mobility services

The markets around transport and mobility are undergoing significant changes. One of the central drivers for these changes is the deployment of information and communications technology throughout the transport system, which in turn enables a wide range of smart mobility services. At the moment, however, smart mobility services are rather fragmented and work in isolated silos. A key issue in future development is how these isolated systems will become interconnected and in general more open. In this article, we apply the framework introduced by Ali-Vehmas and Casey (2012) to model how the evolution toward an open value system for smart mobility services could occur in Finland. In particular, we apply analogies from the emergence of GSM-based mobile networks and the Internet where the former has followed a more centralized path and the latter a more decentralized path